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Raufoss Mk 211
Overview: : "The Crown Jewel of .50 Caliber Rounds" : : The MK211 RAUFOSS (officially the NM140 MP, or MK211 Mod 0 under official US Army designation) is a .50 caliber round made for the Barrett M107/M82 and M2 machinegun. It was made by the Norwegian company Nammo AS (Nordic Ammunition) and manufactured under the lisence of multiple American companies, including Winchester, it is identified by white paint, overlapped by green, on its tip. : : The MK211 round is recommended by John L. Plaster and his book says that it is the most accurate .50 caliber round on the planet. It also says that the US Army Snipers use this the vast majority of the time while training - it is pretty much the only round they use. : : It is a multi-purpose round that can be used on both soft (human targets and alike) and hard (apc, pick-up truck targets and alike) targets - making it a deadly round to be reckoned with. : : The MK 211 is claimed to penetrate up to two inches (50 mm) of rolled homogeneous armor. : : It has a mixture of High Explosive - normally PETN or Composition A4 (RDX) - and Incendiary components as well as zirconium particles for a long burning effect and maximum fire starting effect. It an ignite JP4 and JP8 military jet fuel. It has a maximum range of 2,500 yards. : : Within the round itself sits the tungsten carbide penetrator, a 215 grain 7.62 penetrator, which is ignited by adiabatic pressure being caused on the round as it hits a hard target and travels at 4,000 feet per second into any hard target the MK211 round hits although it can fracture, especially at longer distances. : A well-trained sniper could take out main-battle tank's optics, tracks and even action on it's main .50 caliber weapon. They could take out the crew inside if they got a shot off into the barrel or hatch of the tank. In terms of APC's it can take out tracks and nearly all APC's from the rear and within the hatches and even the joints - also as they are not reinforced and rivetted. Most US army vehicles nowadays are protected against 14.7mm rounds but light-skinned vehicles insurgents use like pick-up trucks are just the type this round can do the most damage to. : Other vehicles which are less armored are just meat for this round - and give the round extra penetrability at longer ranges making this round a very large threat. It can take out sandbagged machinegun positions, ships, static aircraft and helicopters. : The Mullti-Purpose concept has been used with great success to develop a unique 12.7 mm Multi-Purpose ammunition which has strongly contributed to enhance the 12.7 mm weapon system. The optimised ballistic shape of Low Drag Multipurpose projectiles has significantly reduced time of flight, improved hit probability against fast moving targets and improved terminal effects. : Performance Data: : Technical Data: The Model 95SP displays the full capability of the Nammo Raufoss NM-140 Grade A cartridge. (U.S. nomenclature for this ammo is MK-211.) The NM-140 Grade A used by the Spanish Army, Navy and Air Force is assembled in Norway with Canadian brass and exhibits the same basic behavior of the U.S. MK-211. The Model 95SP system has demonstrated consistent 1.5 MOA accuracy at 1,000 meters, sometimes even better than that, with the NM-140 Grade A. : How It Works: : Round fired, while the round is spinning it will cause that incendiary to mix and compress which forms a cone shape of pressure, forming a pocket of air in the tip and the copper jacket really heats up, round hits, causes adiabatic pressure on the round and even on RHA, rolled homogeneous armour, (it needs this pressure so sense a hard target then push the tungsten penetrator through, that's why it sometimes fails on soft targets) which sometimes causes cracks (weakening the armor but sometimes causing the penetrator to fracture and there is less chance of causing cracks on military-grade armor), the pocket of air compresses which causes the incendiary mix to ignite, tiny-RDX explodes causing fragmentation, cracking effects and damage on the armor, kind of creating a mini-shape charge and allowing better penetrability for the round, penetrates by sending the tungsten penetrator (7.62mm armor-piercing tungsten carbide penetrator used in SLAP rounds) forward through the target at 4,000ft per second, which sometimes strips the jacket off as it enters the target, as it sends it inside there is a delayed pyrotechnic-train ignition method to send more HE RDX inside which takes time to burn therefore detonating sometimes 40cm into target (delay only takes 0.1 seconds but delay allows better penetration then the penetrator sends some in and creates suction which drags the rest with it), blast radius of explosion which will kill and some small-scale shrapnel-like effects (from parts of the round and material the rounds hitting being burst apart from the RDX), as well as sending the incendiary mixture mentioned before and high explosive effects inside, zirconium sparks from the zirconium particles are sent inside (burn effects and even lighting clothing on fire or flammable substances) so any explosive vapours or flammable substance is instantly set on fire or explodes, this burns at a very high temperature, is not easily extinguished, and can last for 10 minutes,The triggering of the explosive charge is dependent upon the resistance of the target, the bullets jacket seals against the surface and the projectile still pushes through - even ricocheting around inside the vehicle causing maximum damage. If the target offers little resistance then the lack of frictional heating will prevent the incendiary from igniting and the high explosive from detonating. : : What else can happen: Round fired. Projectile hits a target: If the target is a hard target (RHA, Rolled Homogenous Armour or steel etc), the front of the projecitle collapses on impact, igniting the charges within. The tungsten penetrator penetrates through the armour, creating suction and bringing the HE mix and bits of the jacket with it. The tungsten penetrator bounces around inside the armoured structure. The HE detonates, adding some additional fragmentation to the interior of the structure. The incendiary composition will ignite flammable materials on contact. If the target is a soft target the projectile punches through the soft skin in one piece. If the impact was server enough the HE and Incendiary would commence burning. After travelling about 30-40 centimetres, The HE transitions from burning to detonation, fragmenting the jacket and separating the other components, casuing these to spread form the original flight path. This increases the chance of injuring personel, or damaging equipment without need to acheive a direct strike with the projectile. If the target is wearing body armor - it can detonate within the target. : : Note with Class B - the steel penetrator penetrates with help of a small RDX-explosion, uses pyrotechnic train-like method to not explode all of the RDX but help get inside then delay before it explodes and then 30-40cm within it explodes - all this along with the help of a delayed burning of the RDX. : : : Note: There is two types of MK211, Class A and B - sometimes called Grade A or B. : : Class A - tungsten carbide penetrator, better accuracy. Will penetrate half an inch at 1,100yards, 671 grain bullet, 215 grain penetrator, military grade. : : Class B - steel penetrator, less penetration, less accuracy as Class A, civilian market. : : Several different American manufacturers - with licensing from Nammo - make the round which could make some rounds act differently to others, therefore a difference between Class A and B and different manufacturers. : : The Multi-Purpose design excludes the use of a mechanical fuze, which has been replaced by a pyrotechnical ignition train providing delayed action in the target, penetration, fragmentation and incendiary effects. : The standard design of Multipurpose ammunition (20 - 40 mm) consist of an aluminium nose cap press filled with an incendiary charge on top of the shell body (heat treated steel) which again is press filled with a High-Explosive charge and an incendiary charge. The projectile can also be equipped with a tracer and a self-destruct element. : The 12.7 mm Multipurpose projectile differs from the standard design by using a tungsten carbide hardcore to increase penetration capabilities and being encased in a copper jacket. Since Multipurpose ammunition is a fuse-less design and do not have any sensitive primary high explosive components (only secondary high explosive) it does not have the safety risk associated with fused projectiles and does not produce dangerous duds. : Functioning of the Multipurpose projectile is obtained by hitting the target (light or heavy) inducing a fast deformation of the nose cap which is press filled with the incendiary charge. Upon reaching the ignition criteria for the incendiary charge the charge will start burning and subsequently ignite the HE charge resulting in the fragmentation of the shell body. Sensitivity is dependent on the deformation speed of the nose cap and the high speed associated with a projectile travelling down the trajectory is needed to obtain the necessary sensitivity. It has around the same destructive power as 20mm rounds, but don't let this lead you to believe it can penetrate as well or cause splash damage like 20mm rounds - it cannot. : As you can tell by the pictures, it's pretty damn accurate even out to 1,500m. It's maximum effective range! It has a 25% mobility kill rate at 1,500m on light-skinned vehicles. Fractures rates become more common at longer ranges. As you can see at $9 a round, it is a very expensive ammunition type. Civilian versions of this round cost a little bit more and are illegal in some states. For more information on legailty, scroll down. : Penetration Ability: : Global security says this round can penetrate around 11mm of RHA at 1000m on a 45 degree angle. Other results suggest it could penetrate 3 and a half inches of steel at 100 yards which leads me to think that it can penetrate an inch of RHA at around 300 yards. : One inch thick RHA - API penetrated but did not continue through, the SLAP round exited completely through - this gives you an idea of the penetrability capabilities of the SLAP round when comparing it with the MK211 - and also what the tungsten penetrator can do. : MK211 Penetration Tests: 3 and a half inch manhole cover at 30 degrees at 100 yards - MK211 went straight through and burnt the wood behind the target. : 1/2 inch steel iron maiden at 300-500m it penetrated. : Cinderblock at 100 yards - penetrated 4 of the blocks and because of tumbling and yawing action it penetrated completely through the top. : 2 inch thick steel track at 100 yards - went straight through and causes a crack on the plate along. : 3/4 inch thick bullet-proof glass at 100 yards - completely penetrated and caused burning for more than 30 seconds after the round hit and also caused burning downrange a whole 30 yards past impact. : 600 pound safe at 100 yards - jacket was stripped away and there was heavy fragmentation and burning effects within the safe. 3 out of the 7 tungsten carbide penetrators did not penetrate the back of the safe but completely penetrated the front - one penetrator came through completely perpendicular to the angle. : SLAP vs. MK211: The SLAP round can easily penetrate more RHA due to the added velocity of the round but when comparing it to the MK211 it isn't as effective in an urban environment or at causing maximum damage. The small shoe on the SLAP round allows it to travel at more than 4,000 feet per second - compared to around 2,700 to 3,000 odd feet per second with the MK211. If you add the penetrator into account at 4,000 feet per second it is still a very lethal round. : You have to adjust a hell of a lot more for the MK211 round meaning creating a new range card for it and it would be very expensive to train snipers to use it. The MK211 can also be used for anti-personnel, anti-explosive and anti-armor roles. Hitting a person the round will detonate about 50% of the time; if the target is wearing body armor a higher detonation frequency is to be expected (as shown by the ICRC tests carried out in 1999). If detonated, the round will have a significant fragmentation and incendiary effect in a 30 degree cone behind the struck target, and this might affect others standing in the vicinity. The distance the round will travel from ignition to detonation is 30–40 cm, so if the target is hit at very specific angles the round may still be inside the target at the time of detonation. : Most nations using the round train their soldiers not to deploy the projectile against personnel, but in the heat of battle such regulations are easily overlooked. Also, many parties currently fielding the ammunition have no such regulations. : If it hits a person in the open, the charge goes off after the bullet has left the individual. If the person happens to be inside a vehicle... boom! : Legality: It is not legal in California, Washington D.C. and New York. Cartridges sell from $40 to $60. Although it is normally bought through companies and businesses linked with government contracts. Anti-50 caliber groups are trying to ban this round as it can take down low-flying aircraft and cause a lot of damage if it gets into the wrong hands. As well as it being an expensive round with not many uses for hunting or range shooting - it brings up many arguements for banning it for the civilian sector. There has been much debate over whether the Mk 211 projectile is legal to use against personnel, or if it is strictly anti-material ammunition. The International Commitee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has sought to have the ammunition banned, due to concern over the incendiary and explosive components and their effect on personnel. Under the St. Peterburgs Decleration of 1868 the "military or naval" use of explosive or incendiary projectiles with a mass of under 400 grams is forbidden. When depleted-uranium is banned from certain theatres of war then nations tend to use this round. It is sometimes banned from being used on personnel during war. : Quotes About This Round: "Not only do you get the normal ball, with the lead core, you can now put other elements inside, so now what you've got is a bullet that can be fired by a normal sniper at an armoured personnel carrier, once it gets on the inside the incendiary element will detonate which is basically a fireball, so with one bullet you've taken out one armoured vehicle, the crew and the entire infantry section that could be in the back" - Mark Spicer and Ryan McMillan, McMillan inc and Sniper Training Consultants. Reference: Top Sniper II, Episode 3. : "If you can get a hold of the Mk211 ammo, the MK211 is the one that’s going to get up there and penetrate, at 1,200 meters it will penetrate 36 inches of reinforced concrete. If you get lucky get the Mk211 with a tungsten core penetrator, it will go through a 16th of an inch of titanium" - ART, US Army Sniper School Instructor. : "When the Raufoss round impacts a concrete wall it punches a small .50 calibre hole on one side then the RDX explodes, you have the tungsten steel penetrator punching through, zirconium sparks on the other side, you basically have a shotgun blast of shrapnel and a penetrating dart flying through it" - Steve Reichert, Sniper - Scored a one mile kill shot in Iraq. : “I was using the Mk 211 Raufoss,” Reichert said. “It’s a high-explosive, armor-piercing, incendiary round. I’m not sure how the insurgents felt about being on the receiving end, but I’m sure when they saw the walls being blown apart they thought twice about their trip to see the 70 virgins.” "Raufoss Multipurpose (Armor-piercing, explosive, incendiary) Ammunition. The crown jewel of 50 calibre sniper rifle ammunition is the Raufoss multi-purpose round, developed by a Norwegian company and manufactured under license by several companies, including Winchester. Said by experts to be the most popular round with U.S. military snipers, it was used to devastating effect by U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War. Designated the MK211 by the U.S. military, the Raufoss round was described by Jane’s International Defense Review in 1994 as “the most influential development of the past decade” in 50 calibre ammunition. The round combines armor-piercing, explosive, and incendiary effects and uses a “highly effective pyrotechnically initiated fuse...that delays detonation of the main projectile charge until after initial target penetration moving projectile fragmentation and damage effect inside the target for maximum anti-personnel and fire start effect.” According to its developer, Nordic Ammunition Company (NAMMO), the round can be used in “sniper rifles similar to Barrett M82A1,” has “the equivalent firing power of a 20 mm projectile to include such targets as helicopters, aircrafts (sic), light armour vehicles, ships and light fortifications,” and can ignite JP4 and JP8 military jet fuel. (The typical 20mm projectile to which NAMMO equates its 50 calibre Raufoss round is approximately .8 inch in diameter, thus more than half again as wide as the 50 calibre. It is used in anti-armor and anti-aircraft cannons, often with an explosive charge. The Vulcan 20mm cannon has been the standard internal gun armament of most U.S. combat aircraft—currently including F-14, F-16, and F/A-18—since the 1950s. According to the Marine Corps, the Barrett “M82A1A...fires the .50-caliber RAUFOSS ammunition, which contains a tungsten penetrator and a more powerful explosive charge than the API ammunition....it has penetrated an inch of steel at 2000 yards.” Jane’s International Defense Review estimates that the round is “probably capable of disabling a man wearing body armor who is standing behind the wall of a house at 2,000m.... (and) can perforate the foundation of a high-rise building (20cm reinforced concrete) at 400m.” Reasonable persons probably would agree that blasting through 20 centimetres (7.87 inches) of reinforced concrete from four football field’s distance is an impressive performance." - http://www.vpc.org/graphics/rooftop.pdf : "the Army says that at the long range of 1,500 meters (1,640 yards), ball ammunition can penetrate one inch of concrete, six inches of sand, and 21 inches of clay. At the lesser range of 35 meters (38 yards), ball ammunition can penetrate an inch of armor plate and 16 inches of log wall." - http://www.vpc.org/studies/roofone.htm : "I have had some involvement with the 20 mm version. The basic principle of operation is covered in a US patent. I don't remember the number of the patent right off hand. I can't talk about Olin's process, but what I will say and can say, is that the round is a very nifty round. It has a nose filled with an incendiary composition, and a base filled with a mix of RDX and Wax, not C-4. I think it is A-3. According to the patent (and it is correct), this round works by causing the RDX or other high explosive to go from deflagration (burning) to detonation. It turns out that high explosives can detonate, not just from shock, but given enough heat and pressure, they will detonate. The round basically ignites upon deformation of the nose, blowing a superheated jet of flame back through a steel disk with a hole in it, and lighting a differing incendiary charge setting on the RDX. the combination of the hot jet, (and high heat from the incendiary, cause the RDX to start burning, and then to go to detonation. The result, is a fireball followed a few milliseconds later by an explosion that fragments the steel body. It acts sort of like a shotgun at that point. Very effective for 1/8 aluminium such as an airplane body. “ - http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=mk+211 : "I can't tell you a whole lot, but I have been working with a project that involves 20 mm shells. Raufoss (a Norwegian company I think) invented a non-fused, high-explosive incendiary semi-armor piercing technology, that they sell worldwide. They have published brochures on it. The U.S. licensed the technology, and currently uses it on a number of different rounds. There is a basic patent that covers the technology, and you can obtain a copy of it from the patent office. So what follows is based on that patent. : The shell in question consists of a hardened steel body, (which acts as a armor piercing body), and a deformable nose cone. The body is packed with a high explosive (typically A-4 though it can be others as well). There is a second layer of a very hot incendiary pressed in on top of the explosive. This layer has a small hole or depression in it. There is a steel disk with a small hole in it that fits over this. The nose is filled with another incendiary that ignites easier. It is pressed in with different densities. The entire nose is then pressed into the body. This round is spaced to go off with impact on .080 aluminium. When the round hits, the nose (soft aluminium) deforms, and that action is enough to pinch the incendiary, and transfers enough heat and energy to start an ignition. The incendiary burns through until it hits the steel disk (used to provide support for the nose incendiary against set-back forces). The hole in the disk allows a jet of flame to ignite a large area of the incendiary over the explosive. As that burns, it generates enough heat and pressure to cause the HE to go from deflagration into detonation. : The body then explodes into fragments. So you get a fireball within some inches of penetration, and then an explosion within another few inches or so. It generates a number of fragments that do a lot of damage as they continue to move forward in a cone shape.” - http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=mk+211 : "The multipurpose name is based on the projectile having an armor-piercing (tungsten core), an explosive, and an incendiary component, thus making it capable of penetrating lightly armored targets and causing damage to personnel inside the target after penetration. It is a suitable round for engaging helicopters, aircraft and lightly armored vehicles, as well as unarmored vehicles, and it has the capability of igniting jet fuel. The Mk.211 has about the same destructive power as a standard 20 mm round against such targets." - Wikipedia. : : “Developed in Norway and manufactured under U.S. government contract by Olin Winchester, the Raufoss is an exploding armor piercing round containing a tungsten carbide penetrator. This sophisticate d design incorporates a chain of tiny, split-second events that combine for awesome effect. During acceleration, an incendiary mix in the tip compresses slightly and forms a pocket of air. When that air pocket compresses on impact, it ignites the incendiary mix, and that sets off a tiny RDX explosive charge. The n the tungsten steel penetrator jolts forward, white-ho t sparks of zirconium particles follow to flash-ignite fuel or explosive vapours, while the bull et 's soft jacket seals it against the imp acted surface like a sloppy kiss. This would be impressive enough, but this 671-grain projectile's advance d design has also made it the most accurate military .50caliber round in the inventory. Please note: the Mk 211 Mod 0 is made in two grades, with the "A" grade offering better accuracy, firing on average a 3- to 4-inch group at 600 yards - 1/2 M OA- from a test barrel , although the U.S. government considers a 6-inch group an acceptable standard . According to Norwegian data, the Raufoss round will penetrate up to 1/2 inch of armor at 1,100 yards. This Mk 211 Mod 0 has proved so popular among U.S. combat snipers that it's practically the only .50caliber round they fire.” – The Ultimate Sniper. : Famous Shots With This Round: Steve Reichert – shot through 2 cement blocks from a mile away and then saw blood splatter on the wall behind the one he penetrated. There were about three insurgents behind this wall and not one of them came out from behind it again, leading him to believe he killed them all. : Unknown sniper during the First Gulf War – took out an APC (I believe an M113) of which set on fire from 1,600m away. "Gunny Hathcock's long-range record stood for 30 years, until Master Corporal Aaron Perry, a Canadian sniper from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Light Infantry, scratched an al Qaeda fighter at 2,675 yards in Afghanistan's remote Shahi Kot Valley. The shooter, a young corporal from Newfoundland, benefited from his spotter lazing the target for an exact range. His rifle was a McMillan bolt action, firing high-grade Raufoss Mk 211 ammo he'd scrounged from his American allies." - The Ultimate Sniper Book. “In 1999, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unsuccessfully challenged combat employment of the Mk 2 11 Raufoss, claiming it violated the laws of war. Not only was this claim rejected, but on 14 January 2000, a U.S. Department of Defense review reconfirmed that the Mk 211 was legal to employ against both materiel and personnel target s . Propaganda generated by the ICRC claim has been sufficient that some American snipers in Iraq actually carry with them copies of the Department of Defense legal review.” – The Ultimate Sniper. “In one case, a sniper firing a .50-caliber Barrett with Raufoss exploding ammo even destroyed a ZSU-23-4 tracked antiaircraft gun. Maj. Gen. Carl Ernst, the commander of U.S. forces in Somalia, was so impressed by this performance that he inspired a major expansion of sniper training and improved sniper weaponry throughout the U.S. Army.” – The Ultimate Sniper. : Links and Documentaries about this round: : History Channel's: Sniper within the Crosshairs : Youtube videos posted by MK211 users : USMC Insructional Video of Terminal Ballistics with the MK211 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NCJFI7T6Zc : http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20080229963 : http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/mk211.htm : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raufoss_Mk_211 : http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/22ndISB2005/wednesday/friis.pdf : http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2009infantrysmallarms/thursdaysessionxi8503.pdf : http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2009infantrysmallarms/thursdaysessionxi8503.pdf : http://www.mil.no/multimedia/archive/00036/Virkningen_av_12_7mm_36061a.pdf : http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2009infantrysmallarms/thursdaysessionxi8503.pdf : http://web.archive.org/web/20060519021942/http://www.teol.uu.se/noha/masters/moosberg.pdf :